Recommending Specific Wines

[Innkeeper]

Last week Hotwine recommended an article in the WSJ on inexpensive Bordeaux. In the heart of the article authors Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher made an excellent point on a matter we run into all the time around here. Here is what they said:

"Week after week, we say in this column that you should listen to our general advice instead of looking for any specific bottle we write about. In other words, try a Barolo from Italy, or a Malbec from Argentina. The reason is that it's impossible to know what wines will be available in your wine shop, or even in your state.

All good wine is made in limited quantities. Since we buy all our wine off retail shelves, just as you do, it means most or all of the wine has already been distributed. And wine distribution is screwy. It depends on state law, local wholesalers, the various tastes of retailers and so many other factors. Even nearby stores can have different selections. When we were in Tallahassee, Fla., over the holidays, we visited two stores in the same big chain just a couple of miles apart, and their wine selections had little in common, probably because the demographics of the neighborhoods were different. Geography matters, too. People on the West Coast see California wine that people on the East Coast rarely see, while New Yorkers generally have an excellent selection of European wines.

The only reason we list specific wine, as we often say, is to give you a kind of road map of tastes and prices, so you will know what to expect, and demand, from a particular kind of wine. In the long run, you must find your own road."

Methinks this is good advice. What they didn't mention is the proliferation of importers. There must be as many now as there are wineries in California. And they are spread all over the country. This was brought home recently when I asked a retailer in Chicago about a certain wine, and she called her importer across town for the information. What do you suppose the chance is of finding that wine on either coast? We should keep all of this in mind whenever we recommend wines that are not mass marketed.